For millennia, spirituality has been a deeply personal pursuit – monks on mountaintops and yogis in caves. But the world is more social than ever, and interconnectedness is transforming everything, from our family lives to work. Today, we need a spirituality that focuses more on ‘we’ than ‘me.’
In Evolutionary Relationships, Patricia Albere draws on more than four decades of teaching work to introduce a new kind of spirituality called ‘mutual awakening’ that can be explored with a partner. An ‘Evolutionary Relationship’ is one that drives us, challenges us, compels us to grow and evolve. It is a consciously created connection that is formed between two or more people who mutually commit to explore and develop higher states of perception and awareness together. This book shows readers how to find and transform any committed relationship – whether with a spouse, lover, partner, close friend, or family member – into a dynamic engine for mutual evolution.
Evolutionary Relationships also contains current research on the psychological, cultural, scientific, and spiritual framework for mutual awakening. Albere builds on the work of esteemed developmental psychologists such as Abraham Maslow, Dr. David Hawkins, and Robert Kegan. She cites visionary futurists such as Barbara Marx Hubbard, and she identifies various levels of relating, explaining how these stages serve different human needs. The book also contains an insightful foreword by New York Times bestselling author Katherine Woodward Thomas.
This book is an experiential journey into a new way of relating and a practical workbook for deepening relationships. It includes a step-by-step guide to the author’s ‘Eight Activating Principles’ for mutual awakening and a series of proven practices and methods that she has developed to achieve an Evolutionary Relationship with a partner.
Albere is an internationally known, contemporary spiritual teacher, working at ground zero of an evolutionary stream of spiritual awakening. She is the founder of the Evolutionary Collective and she has worked with over 200, 000 people in groups during the past 40 years, innovating the new fields of post-personal development and intersubjective awakening. Albere also hosts the popular ‘Evolutionary Collective Conversations, ‘ a global talk radio show with over 500, 000 listeners, in which today’s evolutionary leaders join her for dynamic dialogues.
Table of Content
CONTENTS
Foreword: By Katherine Woodward Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
Part I: Mutual Awakening
Prologue: The Longing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1 What Is an Evolutionary Relationship?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2 Awakening to the We. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3 Practicing Mutual Awakening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Part II: Evolutionary Relationships
Introduction: The Eight Activating Principles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4 The First Principle: Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5 The Second Principle: Commitment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
6 The Third Principle: Truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
7 The Fourth Principle: Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
8 The Fifth Principle: Openness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
9 The Sixth Principle: Essential Uniqueness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
10 The Seventh Principle: Mutual Influence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
11 The Eighth Principle: Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Epilogue: Evolving Relatedness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
About the Publisher . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237